2027 Osaka Women's Marathon

2027 Osaka Women's Marathon is the 46th edition of Japan's long-running elite women's marathon, first held in 1982. The 2027 race is a World Athletics Platinum Label road race and the women's G1 event in the Japan Association of Athletics Federations' MGC Series 2026-27. It also serves as a Japanese selection race for the Beijing 2027 World Athletics Championships and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, so this is a high-performance championship-style event for established elite and sub-elite women rather than a mass open marathon.

Race day is Sunday 31 January 2027, with a 12:15 JST start and finish at Yanmar Stadium Nagai. The certified 42.195 km course leaves Nagai for Showacho, Imagawa, Oikebashi and Katsuyama, then runs through Morinomiya and Osaka Business Park, loops via Tosabori-dori and Osaka Castle Park, and continues through Tamatsukuri, Nagahori-dori and Midosuji to Yodoyabashi before returning through central Osaka to the stadium. The route is certified by JAAF and WA/AIMS, and the race is conducted under World Athletics Platinum Label regulations.

Qualification is deliberately demanding. Entrants must be women aged 19 or older on race day, be registered with JAAF for 2026, and have achieved an eligible official performance since 1 January 2025 by the application deadline: marathon within 3:07, 30K within 2:08, half marathon within 1:25, or 10,000 m/10K within 36:00, unless recommended by JAAF. Runners with marathon marks of 2:45 or faster receive quasi-invited status outside the invited and Next Heroine selections.

Applications open at 13:00 JST on 13 October 2026 and close at 17:00 on 8 December through JAAF Athletic Family. General entry is JPY 15,000 plus a JPY 615 processing fee; runners qualifying with a marathon of 2:45 or faster are exempt from the entry fee. Selection notifications are scheduled for mid-December. Race-control checkpoints close at 5K at 12:38, 20K at 13:45, 30K at 14:30 and 38K at 15:08.

Mandatory first check-in is Saturday 30 January from 15:00 to 18:00 at Hotel New Otani Osaka. Athletes must attend personally and proxy check-in is not permitted. Awards go to the top eight finishers, with a separate fighting-spirit award for a Japanese athlete; finishers receive an official record certificate. Official intermediate times are recorded at 5K, 10K, 20K, halfway, 25K and 30K. The co-located 2027 Osaka Half Marathon is a separate event and is not combined with this listing.